Quick Links - Poets.org

follow poets.org

Search form

The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. For over three generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org, the Academy’s popular website; American Poets, a biannual literary journal; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. Since its founding, the Academy has awarded more money to poets than any other organization.

Jehanne Dubrow

Jehanne Dubrow is the author of four poetry collections, including most recently Red Army Red (TriQuarterly Books, 2012) and Stateside (TriQuarterly Books, 2010). She is director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House and an associate professor of creative writing at Washington College, where she edits the national literary journal, Cherry Tree.

by this poet

Squint a little, and that’s my husband in the photograph, the sailor on the left—the one wearing a rose composed of ink and the Little Bo Peep who standsbefore a tiny setting sun and the blur on his forearm which might be a boat—while the sailor on

For weeks, I breathe his body in the sheet
and pillow. I lift a blanket to my face.
There’s bitter incense paired with something sweet,
like sandalwood left sitting in the heat
or cardamom rubbed on a piece of lace.
For weeks, I breathe his body. In the sheet
I smell anise, the musk that we secrete

I had been on my way to work as usualwhen the traffic stalled a quarter milefrom the railroad crossing on Grand Blvd.Then I saw the moon rise abovethe packing sheds of the old Packard plant.The moon at 7:30 in the morning.And the radio went on playingthe